Mariners were on the losing end of yet another heart breaker last night, as the Angels capped off comeback win after Carlos Perez hit his first major league homerun off Dominic Leone to walk the M's off. So, we all know that the Mariners pitching hasn't been the best and there are a couple players who we would like to see get the call up and players who we would like to get sent down, but there's another problem the Mariners have. . . their manager. Last night manger Lloyd McClendon said in a post game interview that he is "managing their innings", referring to both young pitchers Taijuan Walker and James Paxton.
Yeah OK Lloyd here's the thing when you have a pitcher that is clicking and isn't even over 100 pitches. . . why take him out of the game? "Managing their innings" was perhaps the most idiotic thing I've heard McClendon say during his tenure in Seattle. What is there to manage? Your pitchers are having a great game why take them out?! I mean be serious people if you were in Lloyd's shoes what would you have done? I'll tell you what I would have done, I would have kept Paxton in since he was rolling through the Angel hitters and only at 91 pitches! Also when Danny Farqhuar put two one and nobody out I would have made a change even though I'm not a fan of Charlie Furbush.
Lloyd's managing techniques are starting to get to me. By that I mean his ridiculous match up lineups and pitching changes. WHY LLOYD?! Last year Lloyd actually made great decisions but this year its like all he does is sit in the dugout with his thumb up his. . . well you get the point. Things are just going down hill for the Mariners, yes I know were only 5 games under .500 but were lucky that were not the Milwaukee Brewers for crying out loud!
Another thing, why is Seth Smith leading off? I know Austin Jackson is on the DL but come on Smith hasn't done diddly poo since Opening Day! I mean look I know I have been skeptical of Rickie Weeks but I think it will do him some good to start and maybe lead off. Thankfully though Brad Miller maybe starting in the outfield then we wont see Ackley get reps. . . which isn't a bad thing. Ackley has also been a big problem, after starting off hot he hasn't just cooled off he's frozen solid! I think its time Ackley goes down and Franklin Gutierrez gets the call up. Guti's been tearing the cover off the ball in Triple-A Tacoma and I think he's ready to come back and shine like the old Guti we remember.
Another option the M's should make is send both Farq and Leone down to Tacoma and give Justin Germano a call up along with Logan Bawcom. Both are relievers and have been pitching well in Tacoma, though Germano is starting he began as a reliever and could come back as one. Another thing is that when the 8th inning comes up. . . put in Carson Smith! I mean the kid is going to be the Mariners closer after Fernando Rodney's contract is up after this year (that's just my guess).
Look all these suggestions that I have made wont hit Lloyd's ears or eyes but these are a couple things that need to be taken care of otherwise the Mariners season and playoff expectations are going to go straight down the pooper! Also, if things don't pick up after this month I think Lloyd's tenure as manager will need to come to an end. That's what I give Lloyd is til the end of the month to try and get this Mariners team back to its playoff expectations. Now, for that to happen the team needs to do its part as well, the pitching needs to get better, the bullpen needs to get their heads out of their butts, the hitting with runners in scoring position need to improve, and most important of all. . .smart decisions in key situations need to be made.
Showing posts with label Fernando Rodney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fernando Rodney. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Monday, May 19, 2014
Mariners Talk Podcast Episode 4
On this edition Gary Hill from 710 ESPN Seattle joins me and we discuss the Mariners, our top 10 favorite Mariners games of all time, and we go into the upcoming week for the Mariners
http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-129537/TS-861622.mp3
http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-129537/TS-861622.mp3
Monday, May 5, 2014
Young pitches a gem M's are back to .500
Well, the Mariners made their way back to Oakland to face their long time rivals, the Athletics. Another bad part about this game was they were facing Scott Kazmir, who has just been amazing this season. Kazmir came into this game a perfect 4-0 with one of those wins coming against these Mariners. The Mariners though have been playing with hot bats and did not want to have Kazmir have a repeat performance. So, they decided to get to Kazmir early, and by early I mean the first inning.
Michael Saunders and Stefen Romero got things started off right away with back-to-back singles. After Robinson Cano was called out on strikes Corey Hart drove in the first run on an RBI single and Kyle Seager got a nice productive ground ball out that allowed Romero to score and make it 2-0. Chris Young missed his first start against the Athletics thanks to the grounds keeper not putting the tarp out on the field, so he decided to make up for lost time. Young only needed 33 pitches to get through 3 innings of work, setting down the Athletic hitters 1-2-3 in each inning. The only mistake Young made was in the bottom of the fourth when he gave up a 2-run home run to Brandon Moss.
In the top of the fifth inning the Mariners would regain the lead and never look back. Romero got into one and drove his first major league home run out of the yard and put the Mariners up 3-2. The Mariners got an extra run in the top of the sixth inning as Brad Miller singled home Cole Gillespie to put the lead to 4-2. After that Miller would steal both second and third base but thanks to going on contact was thrown out at home, Mike Zunino also had a base running boo-boo and that ended the inning.
After the sixth, the Mariners bullpen took care of the rest. After giving up a lead off single to Josh Donaldson and walking Moss manager Lloyd McClendon went to his bullpen. His very tired, exhausted, and used up bullpen. But they got the job done. Charlie Furbush would get his only batter that he faced to ground into a huge double play, Dominic Leone was then brought in but walked pinch hitter Derek Norris to load the bases, and so McClendon went to his bullpen for a third time in the inning and brought in the always reliable Joe Beimel. Beimel was set to face Josh Reddick but A's manager and former M's skipper Bob Melvin decided to pinch hit Yoenis Cespedes. Beimel set Cespedes down by getting him to pop out to end the inning.
Beimel would then pitch to two more batters and got both of them out before McClendon made another pitching change, this time he brought in Funky Cold Medina. Yoervis Medina didn't have any problems as he got Jed Lowrie to fly out to end the A's half of the eighth.
So, the bottom of the ninth came and Mariners fans fastened their seat belts for the Fernando Rodney Experience.......not a very interesting ride though seeing how Rodney pitched a perfect 1-2-3 ninth inning and earned his eighth save of the season and really earned to shoot his arrow into the sky.
Mariners are back at .500........boy that feels good to say, so does saying that the Mariners dealt Scott Kazmir his first loss of the season. Tomorrow the Mariners send out their Cuban sensation Roenis Elias who is coming off a career pitching performance in New York. Elias thankfully will probably have a decent umpire behind the plate tomorrow and will look to pitch better than both his first start of his career and season against the M's and will try to help his team get back to above .500.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Chris Young 6+ IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 2 K W (2-0)
Stefen Romero 2-5 HR 2 R RBI
Fernando Rodney 1 IP 0 H 1 K SV (8)
Michael Saunders and Stefen Romero got things started off right away with back-to-back singles. After Robinson Cano was called out on strikes Corey Hart drove in the first run on an RBI single and Kyle Seager got a nice productive ground ball out that allowed Romero to score and make it 2-0. Chris Young missed his first start against the Athletics thanks to the grounds keeper not putting the tarp out on the field, so he decided to make up for lost time. Young only needed 33 pitches to get through 3 innings of work, setting down the Athletic hitters 1-2-3 in each inning. The only mistake Young made was in the bottom of the fourth when he gave up a 2-run home run to Brandon Moss.
In the top of the fifth inning the Mariners would regain the lead and never look back. Romero got into one and drove his first major league home run out of the yard and put the Mariners up 3-2. The Mariners got an extra run in the top of the sixth inning as Brad Miller singled home Cole Gillespie to put the lead to 4-2. After that Miller would steal both second and third base but thanks to going on contact was thrown out at home, Mike Zunino also had a base running boo-boo and that ended the inning.
After the sixth, the Mariners bullpen took care of the rest. After giving up a lead off single to Josh Donaldson and walking Moss manager Lloyd McClendon went to his bullpen. His very tired, exhausted, and used up bullpen. But they got the job done. Charlie Furbush would get his only batter that he faced to ground into a huge double play, Dominic Leone was then brought in but walked pinch hitter Derek Norris to load the bases, and so McClendon went to his bullpen for a third time in the inning and brought in the always reliable Joe Beimel. Beimel was set to face Josh Reddick but A's manager and former M's skipper Bob Melvin decided to pinch hit Yoenis Cespedes. Beimel set Cespedes down by getting him to pop out to end the inning.
Beimel would then pitch to two more batters and got both of them out before McClendon made another pitching change, this time he brought in Funky Cold Medina. Yoervis Medina didn't have any problems as he got Jed Lowrie to fly out to end the A's half of the eighth.
So, the bottom of the ninth came and Mariners fans fastened their seat belts for the Fernando Rodney Experience.......not a very interesting ride though seeing how Rodney pitched a perfect 1-2-3 ninth inning and earned his eighth save of the season and really earned to shoot his arrow into the sky.
Mariners are back at .500........boy that feels good to say, so does saying that the Mariners dealt Scott Kazmir his first loss of the season. Tomorrow the Mariners send out their Cuban sensation Roenis Elias who is coming off a career pitching performance in New York. Elias thankfully will probably have a decent umpire behind the plate tomorrow and will look to pitch better than both his first start of his career and season against the M's and will try to help his team get back to above .500.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Chris Young 6+ IP 3 H 2 R 2 ER 2 K W (2-0)
Stefen Romero 2-5 HR 2 R RBI
Fernando Rodney 1 IP 0 H 1 K SV (8)
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Mariners win but bullpen comes close to blowing it
The day after Houston suffered both victory and defeat from walking off the Mariners to Damian Lillard sending the Rockets home what could top that? How about a roller coaster ride win? That's exactly what happened to the Mariners today, it was in my opinion one of the ugliest wins of the season. With Hisashi Iwakuma making his 2014 debut the Mariners were aiming to get him his first win of the season, they got him the win but boy did it not come easy. This game I think saw my blood pressure raise to its highest its ever been, thank God I didn't have a stroke.
Kuma looked like he brought his A game today as he got through the first two innings with only throwing 20 pitches and striking out one, but the third saw the Astros get to him. Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Villar strung together back-to-back hits and Jose Altuve hit a sacrifice fly to put the Astros up 2-0 early in the ball game. The Mariners got a run back in the top of the sixth, Stefen Romero lead off the inning with just missing a home run by a matter of inches but was still able to leg out his first triple of his career. Robinson Cano drove in Romero with a line drive single to left to put the M's on the board.
The Mariners in the top of the seventh would see the team show great plate discipline, being patient at the plate, and being aggressive as well and scored 8 runs. Justin Smoak and Cole Gillespie drew back-to-back walks and so Brad Miller now had a job to do, get the bunt down to move the runners over. After chopping at one pitch and fouling off another Miller worked a walk by showing great discipline, and so the bases were full of Mariners. Bo Porter made his way out to the mound to talk with his starter Dallas Keuchel and following the mound visit catcher Jason Castro made his way back out to the mound, and that set manager Lloyd McClendon off.
McClendon had a decent argument as Porter and Castro were stalling for time and quiet frankly that's just messed up. So after McClendon was ejected Porter made his happy butt back out to the mound to make a pitching change, so Jose Cisnero was brought in to try and get out of this jam. Didn't happen. Mike Zunino drew the fourth walk in a row that brought home Smoak to tie the game up at 2-2. Michael Saunders continued to make the most of being the lead off hitter and doubled home two more in Gillespie and Miller and so the Mariners took the 4-2 lead. Romero drove in the 5th run of the ball game for the M's with an RBI single.
Cano added another run with his second RBI single of the game, following another pitching change by the Astros Kyle Seager extended his hitting streak to 8 games with an RBI double to make it 7-2. So, here we are two outs and Smoak making his second plate appearance of the inning and he decides to drive the first pitch he sees onto the train tracks at Minute Maid Park.......so he basically destroyed it and put the Mariners up 9-2.
So after a 30 minute break, Kuma came out in the seventh and was not sharp. Chris Carter continued to destroy Mariner pitchers as he hit a one out solo home run to put the Astros down by 6 runs. With two outs though Kuma gave up a single to Gonzalez so the M's decided to go to the bullpen and Dominic Leone was brought in. Leone was not sharp either, as he gave up a two home run to Villar and so the Astros now trailed by 4 runs. Altuve drew a walk and after stealing second Dexter Fowler drove him in, so now this game turned around for the Astros real quickly as they now trailed by just 3 runs. Leone was relieved by Joe Beimel.
Beimel was able to get the final out in the inning and would pitch to one more batter in the eighth before being relieved by Yoervis Medina. Medina though did not have his stuff either. Medina would get one out but then would have trouble, giving up 2 runs. So since Medina couldn't get the job done, Fernando Rodney would be brought in to try and stop the bleeding. Rodney not only stopped the bleeding but he also earned his seventh save of the season and saved his team from completing a total meltdown.
NOTES: Saunders has been making the most of his time as the lead off hitter. He has batted .385 since becoming the lead off hitter and has raised his batting average to .250. Seager has also been on a tear since his two home run game against the Astros one week ago, he has raised his batting average from .156 to .237 during his 8 game hitting streak.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Fernando Rodney 1.1 IP 0 H 2 K SV
Justin Smoak 2-3 2 R HR 2B BB 2 RBI
Michael Saunders 2-5 R 2B 2 RBI
Robinson Cano 2-5 R 2 RBI
Kuma looked like he brought his A game today as he got through the first two innings with only throwing 20 pitches and striking out one, but the third saw the Astros get to him. Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Villar strung together back-to-back hits and Jose Altuve hit a sacrifice fly to put the Astros up 2-0 early in the ball game. The Mariners got a run back in the top of the sixth, Stefen Romero lead off the inning with just missing a home run by a matter of inches but was still able to leg out his first triple of his career. Robinson Cano drove in Romero with a line drive single to left to put the M's on the board.
The Mariners in the top of the seventh would see the team show great plate discipline, being patient at the plate, and being aggressive as well and scored 8 runs. Justin Smoak and Cole Gillespie drew back-to-back walks and so Brad Miller now had a job to do, get the bunt down to move the runners over. After chopping at one pitch and fouling off another Miller worked a walk by showing great discipline, and so the bases were full of Mariners. Bo Porter made his way out to the mound to talk with his starter Dallas Keuchel and following the mound visit catcher Jason Castro made his way back out to the mound, and that set manager Lloyd McClendon off.
McClendon had a decent argument as Porter and Castro were stalling for time and quiet frankly that's just messed up. So after McClendon was ejected Porter made his happy butt back out to the mound to make a pitching change, so Jose Cisnero was brought in to try and get out of this jam. Didn't happen. Mike Zunino drew the fourth walk in a row that brought home Smoak to tie the game up at 2-2. Michael Saunders continued to make the most of being the lead off hitter and doubled home two more in Gillespie and Miller and so the Mariners took the 4-2 lead. Romero drove in the 5th run of the ball game for the M's with an RBI single.
Cano added another run with his second RBI single of the game, following another pitching change by the Astros Kyle Seager extended his hitting streak to 8 games with an RBI double to make it 7-2. So, here we are two outs and Smoak making his second plate appearance of the inning and he decides to drive the first pitch he sees onto the train tracks at Minute Maid Park.......so he basically destroyed it and put the Mariners up 9-2.
So after a 30 minute break, Kuma came out in the seventh and was not sharp. Chris Carter continued to destroy Mariner pitchers as he hit a one out solo home run to put the Astros down by 6 runs. With two outs though Kuma gave up a single to Gonzalez so the M's decided to go to the bullpen and Dominic Leone was brought in. Leone was not sharp either, as he gave up a two home run to Villar and so the Astros now trailed by 4 runs. Altuve drew a walk and after stealing second Dexter Fowler drove him in, so now this game turned around for the Astros real quickly as they now trailed by just 3 runs. Leone was relieved by Joe Beimel.
Beimel was able to get the final out in the inning and would pitch to one more batter in the eighth before being relieved by Yoervis Medina. Medina though did not have his stuff either. Medina would get one out but then would have trouble, giving up 2 runs. So since Medina couldn't get the job done, Fernando Rodney would be brought in to try and stop the bleeding. Rodney not only stopped the bleeding but he also earned his seventh save of the season and saved his team from completing a total meltdown.
NOTES: Saunders has been making the most of his time as the lead off hitter. He has batted .385 since becoming the lead off hitter and has raised his batting average to .250. Seager has also been on a tear since his two home run game against the Astros one week ago, he has raised his batting average from .156 to .237 during his 8 game hitting streak.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Fernando Rodney 1.1 IP 0 H 2 K SV
Justin Smoak 2-3 2 R HR 2B BB 2 RBI
Michael Saunders 2-5 R 2B 2 RBI
Robinson Cano 2-5 R 2 RBI
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Mariners enjoy home weather in a win over Yankees
With the tarp off the field and the temperature at a chilly 46 degrees Robinson Cano made his return to Yankee Stadium. Though, last night on Jimmy Fallon Cano surprised a couple Yankee fans. Though I'm not going to get on that its more fun to talk about the Mariners 6-3 win over the Yankees. As Cano made his way to the plate for the first time did he ever get the warmest welcome from New York's greatest fans.......that was sarcasm by the way. CC Sabathia took to the mound for the Pinstripes looking to improve to 13-4 against the Mariners in his career. At first things looked like he would earn that 13th win very easily......that didn't happen though.
After a 1-2-3 first for Sabathia, Chris Young took to the mound for Seattle looking to earn that first win of the season. Young ran into trouble in back-to-back innings. First Mark Teixeira drove his third homer of the season over the right field fence, and then in the following inning Young's inning didn't start off the way he wanted it to. He walked the first batter he saw then gave up a single to Brett Gardner, after getting two outs with Brian McCann up to bat Gardner took off to steal second and on the throw from catcher Mike Zunino the ball rolled into center allowing Brian Roberts to score to make it 2-0.
Things really started to go the Mariners way in the top of the fifth. Zunino lead off by legging out an infield single which was ruled an out at first but was overturned upon further review. Zunino's single would be followed by two other singles by Willie Bloomquist and Abraham Almonte, so here is a familiar site for M's fans bases loaded and no outs, well you can guess that M's fans on Twitter were saying that they wouldn't score. Cano drove in the M's first run with a productive ground ball that allowed Zunino to score from third, Corey Hart then drove the first pitch he saw into right center field that allowed Willie and Abraham to score and so the Mariners took the 3-2 lead. Justin Smoak added the last run of the inning for the M's with an RBI single to right to make it 4-2.
The top of the seventh saw the Mariners scoring two more times with two outs. Cano lead off the seventh with a hustling infield single and then to top things off stole second. So with two outs Dustin Ackley came in to pinch hit for Cole Gillespie, and after a tough home stand he drove in Cano with a 2-out single to put the M's up 5-2. Zunino added to his terrific night by driving in Ackley with his career high 4th hit of the night.
Fernando Rodney was brought in to finish off the Yankees in the 9th, it wouldn't be easy though. Rodney sent us on another roller coaster ride as he gave up a run but was able to close out the game. So the Mariners move to within 3 games of .500 and will go for a series win tomorrow. Though the forecast for tomorrow in New York doesn't look good as the rain pelted the teams tonight and will probably be continuing tomorrow so we may have a double header on Thursday.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Robinson Cano 1-5 R SB RBI
Corey Hart 1-4 2B 2 RBIs R
Mike Zunino 4-5 R RBI
Dustin Ackley 2-2 RBI R
After a 1-2-3 first for Sabathia, Chris Young took to the mound for Seattle looking to earn that first win of the season. Young ran into trouble in back-to-back innings. First Mark Teixeira drove his third homer of the season over the right field fence, and then in the following inning Young's inning didn't start off the way he wanted it to. He walked the first batter he saw then gave up a single to Brett Gardner, after getting two outs with Brian McCann up to bat Gardner took off to steal second and on the throw from catcher Mike Zunino the ball rolled into center allowing Brian Roberts to score to make it 2-0.
Things really started to go the Mariners way in the top of the fifth. Zunino lead off by legging out an infield single which was ruled an out at first but was overturned upon further review. Zunino's single would be followed by two other singles by Willie Bloomquist and Abraham Almonte, so here is a familiar site for M's fans bases loaded and no outs, well you can guess that M's fans on Twitter were saying that they wouldn't score. Cano drove in the M's first run with a productive ground ball that allowed Zunino to score from third, Corey Hart then drove the first pitch he saw into right center field that allowed Willie and Abraham to score and so the Mariners took the 3-2 lead. Justin Smoak added the last run of the inning for the M's with an RBI single to right to make it 4-2.
The top of the seventh saw the Mariners scoring two more times with two outs. Cano lead off the seventh with a hustling infield single and then to top things off stole second. So with two outs Dustin Ackley came in to pinch hit for Cole Gillespie, and after a tough home stand he drove in Cano with a 2-out single to put the M's up 5-2. Zunino added to his terrific night by driving in Ackley with his career high 4th hit of the night.
Fernando Rodney was brought in to finish off the Yankees in the 9th, it wouldn't be easy though. Rodney sent us on another roller coaster ride as he gave up a run but was able to close out the game. So the Mariners move to within 3 games of .500 and will go for a series win tomorrow. Though the forecast for tomorrow in New York doesn't look good as the rain pelted the teams tonight and will probably be continuing tomorrow so we may have a double header on Thursday.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Robinson Cano 1-5 R SB RBI
Corey Hart 1-4 2B 2 RBIs R
Mike Zunino 4-5 R RBI
Dustin Ackley 2-2 RBI R
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Rodney out Farqhuar in?
Last night was another roller coaster night for the Mariners, but the roller coaster ride didn't really begin until the top of the ninth inning. Fernando Rodney put both his team and the fans on a blood pressure rising inning. Although Rodney did earn his fourth save of the season he gave up 2 runs, hit a batter, and walked two batters. He shot his arrow but I think that arrow should have been shot by Justin Smoak since he was the one who bailed Rodney's ass out of the inning with a game ending unassisted double play.
The Mariners signed Fernando Rodney to a two year deal worth $14 million dollars, and at first I was wondering why the Mariners signed Rodney when Danny Farqhuar did a great job as the closer last season converting 16 saves in 18 opportunities. A lot of people are skeptical including myself of Rodney's inability to have clean saves. In Rodney's first two appearances this season, he only allowed 1 hit in 1.2 innings of work and had gotten his first save against the Oakland A's, but since in the 5.2 innings he's walked 6 batters and has had only one clean inning, lost one game, and raised his ERA from 0.00 to 3.68.
Rodney is 37 years old, so the question is will Lloyd McClendon stick with the control issued Rodney as the closer or make the switch to Danny Farqhuar?
Farqhuar has appeared in 9 games so far this season and in 10.2 innings of work he's walked 6, struck out 10, and has an ERA of 1.69......oh yeah and he's only given up 2 earned runs. Farqhuar has also held his opponents hitters to an even .200 batting average while Rodney's opponents are batting .321. Rodney also had some interesting comments in his post game interview in regards to Adrian Beltre's at bat, he said "In a situation like that, I was looking for a ground ball for a double play to end the game. I made a good pitch, line drive to first game over."
Rodney didn't deserve to shoot that arrow last night, if anything he should have let Smoak shoot it since he bailed him out of that jam. Rodney again has shown us through his last 6 appearances that he has no control of his pitches and last week in the game against the Rangers he was the main reason why the M's lost that game. When your closer cant get you three outs without walking batters or giving up 2 or more hits then I think its time to look for someone else to close your games for you.
McClendon is going to have to make a choice soon, unless Rodney gets control of his pitches and has good quick innings or 1-2-3 innings Lloyd may make the switch to Farqhuar as the closer for this team.
The Mariners signed Fernando Rodney to a two year deal worth $14 million dollars, and at first I was wondering why the Mariners signed Rodney when Danny Farqhuar did a great job as the closer last season converting 16 saves in 18 opportunities. A lot of people are skeptical including myself of Rodney's inability to have clean saves. In Rodney's first two appearances this season, he only allowed 1 hit in 1.2 innings of work and had gotten his first save against the Oakland A's, but since in the 5.2 innings he's walked 6 batters and has had only one clean inning, lost one game, and raised his ERA from 0.00 to 3.68.
Rodney is 37 years old, so the question is will Lloyd McClendon stick with the control issued Rodney as the closer or make the switch to Danny Farqhuar?
Farqhuar has appeared in 9 games so far this season and in 10.2 innings of work he's walked 6, struck out 10, and has an ERA of 1.69......oh yeah and he's only given up 2 earned runs. Farqhuar has also held his opponents hitters to an even .200 batting average while Rodney's opponents are batting .321. Rodney also had some interesting comments in his post game interview in regards to Adrian Beltre's at bat, he said "In a situation like that, I was looking for a ground ball for a double play to end the game. I made a good pitch, line drive to first game over."
Rodney didn't deserve to shoot that arrow last night, if anything he should have let Smoak shoot it since he bailed him out of that jam. Rodney again has shown us through his last 6 appearances that he has no control of his pitches and last week in the game against the Rangers he was the main reason why the M's lost that game. When your closer cant get you three outs without walking batters or giving up 2 or more hits then I think its time to look for someone else to close your games for you.
McClendon is going to have to make a choice soon, unless Rodney gets control of his pitches and has good quick innings or 1-2-3 innings Lloyd may make the switch to Farqhuar as the closer for this team.
Smoak's bat and glove helps beat the Rangers
Well, it was both College Night and Bearded Hat night at the ballpark last night. So, you have both college kids getting smashed in The Pen and people wanting probably the dumbest promotion the Mariners have had this season. There was a point during the game where the camera over The Pen went over and then went to a single fan who was actually watching the game.......sad huh? If these college kids are so smart then they really should have just gone to a bar if they didn't want to watch the Mariners game and just get drunk, but I'm getting off topic. The Mariners opened up a three game against the Texas Rangers......so for the second time the M's faced their Texas rivals and they really wanted to forget the last series against this team.
The Mariners decided since they walked things off two days ago, they would get back to their winning ways. Though at first they didn't seem to be in the winning mood, it just took them five innings to wake up their bats. Adrian Beltre got activated from the DL and Roenis Elias took to the mound looking for his 2nd win against the Rangers.
Robbie Ross, Jr., took to the mound for the Rangers and in the first two innings both pitchers look evenly matched. Elias ran into trouble in back-to-back innings, as the Rangers got a run in both the top of the third and fourth inning. I have to give Elias a great deal of credit, even though he had two tough innings the fourth inning was the toughest he had. Elias walked three in that inning and gave up an RBI double but with the bases loaded Elias went into Beast Mode. He struck out the next two batters he face to end the inning, so after four innings of work Elias was up to 73 pitches.
With the Rangers up 2-0 the Mariners got back both runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. With 2 outs Abraham Almonte and Willie Bloomquist were able to get on base, Robinson Cano drove in both runners with his first big hit at Safeco so the Mariners tied the game, but that tie wouldn't last long. Elias's night was done after allowing two more hits in the top of the sixth, so manager Lloyd McClendon brought in Dominic Leone to try and get out of the jam. Leone got out of the inning but threw a wild pitch that allowed Prince Fielder to score from third to put the Rangers back up 3-2.
Inning by inning went by until the game reached the bottom of the eighth inning, and most um "Mariner" fans were thinking "here we go again" and were already counting the Mariners out of this game. The Mariners though were still on their "comeback kid" hangover and wanted another one. Cano lead off the inning with his second hit of the ball game, following Corey Hart getting hit by a pitch Stefen Romero singled to load the bases up for the M's. After a mound visit by the Rangers, McClendon sent out Michael Saunders to pinch run for Hart. Justin Smoak entered the batter's box with a ton of pressure on his shoulders. Nobody out, bases loaded, and a chance to give his team the lead.
Smoak decided to not let the pressure get to him this time, with a full now on him Smoak lined one to left passed Michael Choice that made 31,145 fans go nuts as Cano and Saunders scored to put the Mariners up 4-3. After that the Mariners didn't look back as Kyle Seager drove in his 6th run in 2 games with an RBI single, the M's got one more run on a wild pitch that allowed Smoak to score and so the Mariners lead 6-3 going into the 9th.
Fernando Rodney was brought in to try and earn his fourth save of the season. With one out the Rangers got to Rodney. The Rangers loaded the bases after a fielder's choice, a single, and a hit batter so Rodney had some work to do. Rodney walked both Choice and Elvis Andrus to put the Rangers deficit to only one run, so here we went again. Rodney was saved though, as Smoak made the play of the night that literally saved the Mariners and Rodney as he dove for a line drive off Beltre. Smoak snagged it and touched first base for a game ending unassisted double play.
So, a nail biting night ends with the good guys winning it and officially starting a winning streak, which is at two games now. Though questions were made both before and after the game. For example Jason Churchill from 1090 "The Fan" AM questioned Lloyd McClendon's decision making as the manager of the team.
The Mariners decided since they walked things off two days ago, they would get back to their winning ways. Though at first they didn't seem to be in the winning mood, it just took them five innings to wake up their bats. Adrian Beltre got activated from the DL and Roenis Elias took to the mound looking for his 2nd win against the Rangers.
Robbie Ross, Jr., took to the mound for the Rangers and in the first two innings both pitchers look evenly matched. Elias ran into trouble in back-to-back innings, as the Rangers got a run in both the top of the third and fourth inning. I have to give Elias a great deal of credit, even though he had two tough innings the fourth inning was the toughest he had. Elias walked three in that inning and gave up an RBI double but with the bases loaded Elias went into Beast Mode. He struck out the next two batters he face to end the inning, so after four innings of work Elias was up to 73 pitches.
With the Rangers up 2-0 the Mariners got back both runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. With 2 outs Abraham Almonte and Willie Bloomquist were able to get on base, Robinson Cano drove in both runners with his first big hit at Safeco so the Mariners tied the game, but that tie wouldn't last long. Elias's night was done after allowing two more hits in the top of the sixth, so manager Lloyd McClendon brought in Dominic Leone to try and get out of the jam. Leone got out of the inning but threw a wild pitch that allowed Prince Fielder to score from third to put the Rangers back up 3-2.
Inning by inning went by until the game reached the bottom of the eighth inning, and most um "Mariner" fans were thinking "here we go again" and were already counting the Mariners out of this game. The Mariners though were still on their "comeback kid" hangover and wanted another one. Cano lead off the inning with his second hit of the ball game, following Corey Hart getting hit by a pitch Stefen Romero singled to load the bases up for the M's. After a mound visit by the Rangers, McClendon sent out Michael Saunders to pinch run for Hart. Justin Smoak entered the batter's box with a ton of pressure on his shoulders. Nobody out, bases loaded, and a chance to give his team the lead.
Smoak decided to not let the pressure get to him this time, with a full now on him Smoak lined one to left passed Michael Choice that made 31,145 fans go nuts as Cano and Saunders scored to put the Mariners up 4-3. After that the Mariners didn't look back as Kyle Seager drove in his 6th run in 2 games with an RBI single, the M's got one more run on a wild pitch that allowed Smoak to score and so the Mariners lead 6-3 going into the 9th.
Fernando Rodney was brought in to try and earn his fourth save of the season. With one out the Rangers got to Rodney. The Rangers loaded the bases after a fielder's choice, a single, and a hit batter so Rodney had some work to do. Rodney walked both Choice and Elvis Andrus to put the Rangers deficit to only one run, so here we went again. Rodney was saved though, as Smoak made the play of the night that literally saved the Mariners and Rodney as he dove for a line drive off Beltre. Smoak snagged it and touched first base for a game ending unassisted double play.
So, a nail biting night ends with the good guys winning it and officially starting a winning streak, which is at two games now. Though questions were made both before and after the game. For example Jason Churchill from 1090 "The Fan" AM questioned Lloyd McClendon's decision making as the manager of the team.
McClendon decided to put Cole Gillespie in the lineup against a left handed pitcher when he has had trouble against lefties in his career and Dustin Ackley has had great success against lefties. So, who would you rather start? Gillespie who hits better against righties or Ackley who hits better against lefties? I thought so. Also McClendon continues to favor Almonte for the lead off hitter role and all Almonte has done is strike out 32 times and posted a .215 batting average.....that's not lead off hitter material. Also tonight McClendon should think about who should be the closer for this team as Rodney had another rough save opportunity and has only had 1-2-3 appearance this season. In Rodney's 7.1 innings of work he has walked 6 batters.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Robinson Cano 2-4 R 2B 2 RBIs
Justin Smoak 1-3 R 2B 2 RBIs
Stefen Romero 2-4 R 2B
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Seager ends the M's losing streak and beats the Astros
What is better than an afternoon at the ballpark with your family? How bout a walk off losing streak ending win by the Mariners? That's was what took place at Safeco Field today in front of 13,739 fans who turned out to watch the Mariners end the 2nd longest losing streak by any team in the majors this year. Chris Young took to the mound today looking to earn his first win of the season and go deep into the ball game to rest the bullpen as well.
Young's day started off pretty well as he went 1-2-3 in the first inning. Though in the top of the third inning is where he got into trouble. After walking the lead off hitter he got the next two batters out, so it looked like Young was going to get out of the third with no damage........*BUZZ* WRONG!!!!! Young walked Dexter Fowler and following that the Astros only All Star from last year Jason Castro doubled that drove in Matt Dominguez and Fowler. So, the Astros lead 2-0 after the third inning and that meant thanks to the eight game losing streak all the "faithful" Mariner fans said "That's it games over".
Thankfully those Mariner fans were proven wrong. But getting back to the recap of today's game. The Mariners had a one threat going in both the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings but were turned away both times. In the fourth with one out Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to four games with a one out single and then Corey Hart walked. Justin Smoak though came through not in the good way but in his usual "we have a scoring opportunity so ill screw it up" way by grounding into one his trademark double play inning killers. Then in the bottom of the fifth the M's got their first two hitters on base. First Kyle Seager drew a nice six pitch walk and then Nick Franklin snapped an 0 for 13 stretch with a single, so you figure that Lloyd McClendon would have Ackley bunt the runners over........*BUZZ* WRONG AGAIN!!!!
Instead Ackley looked at two strikes then grounded into a double play, following him Mike Zunino popped out to end what could have been a possible scoring inning for the Mariners. Young was at 97 pitches after the sixth inning but headed out to pitch the seventh and I have to give him credit for keeping the M's in the game. Chris Carter though hit his second home run of the season and put the Astros lead to 3-0. So, after the seventh inning the Mariners trailed 3-0, Chris Young's day was done, and they were nine out away from being swept by the Astros and pushing their losing streak to nine games.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning Smoak got on with a bloop single to left, so Seager came up looking to help his team out. He did and in a big way, Seager blasted his first homer of the season and really put a positive charge in his team as they were now down by only a run. In both the eighth and ninth inning the Mariners bullpen had to be put to work. First was Charlie Furbush. After Charlie got the first two Astro hitters out he walked Jesus Guzman and gave up a single to Alex Presley, so the Astros were threatening to score again and the man to face Furbush with two one would be Carter. Furbush though showed no signs of fear as he struck out Carter to end the threat.
Fernando Rodney was called in the ninth to keep the game at a one run game. Rodney got the job done but it took him some time to do it as he threw 28 pitches to get out of the ninth.
So here we go again, the Astros brought in former Mariner Josh Fields to close things out. Cano lead off the inning with a nice blooped single and Corey Hart extended his hitting streak to six games as he lined a single down the left field line. So with two on and nobody out Justin Smoak had a shot to win this game......didn't happen though. Smoak went down swinging and so the M's were down to their final two outs. Smoak however would be the final out, as Seager stepped in with already a home run under his belt, he swung at the first pitch he saw from Fields and it was a no-doubter walk off home run.
The Mariners losing streak is finally over!!!! Man have I waited to say that for a whole damn week. After today's win me and a lot of other Mariner fans were like Lou Brown in Major League 2 "I LOVE THIS $%^ AND I MAY MOVE TO ENGLAND!!!!"
The M's have the day off tomorrow and its a much needed one. Though during this upcoming day off manager Lloyd McClendon needs to make some changes to this lineup, such as taking Abraham Almonte out of the lead off role as Almonte after today leads the majors in strikeouts with 33. If you see here on Sodo Mojo my co-host from Mariners Talk podcast says that Seager should be moved into the lead off role and that Almonte should be the #2 hitter.
Again the M's have a day off tomorrow and will face the Texas Rangers for a 3 game series starting on Thursday. After the day off we may see Cole Gillespie get a call up.....you never know.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Kyle Seager 2-3 2 HR 5 RBIs 2 R BB
Robinson Cano 2-4 R
Chris Young 7 IP 3 R 3 ER 6 K 5 BB
Young's day started off pretty well as he went 1-2-3 in the first inning. Though in the top of the third inning is where he got into trouble. After walking the lead off hitter he got the next two batters out, so it looked like Young was going to get out of the third with no damage........*BUZZ* WRONG!!!!! Young walked Dexter Fowler and following that the Astros only All Star from last year Jason Castro doubled that drove in Matt Dominguez and Fowler. So, the Astros lead 2-0 after the third inning and that meant thanks to the eight game losing streak all the "faithful" Mariner fans said "That's it games over".
Thankfully those Mariner fans were proven wrong. But getting back to the recap of today's game. The Mariners had a one threat going in both the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings but were turned away both times. In the fourth with one out Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to four games with a one out single and then Corey Hart walked. Justin Smoak though came through not in the good way but in his usual "we have a scoring opportunity so ill screw it up" way by grounding into one his trademark double play inning killers. Then in the bottom of the fifth the M's got their first two hitters on base. First Kyle Seager drew a nice six pitch walk and then Nick Franklin snapped an 0 for 13 stretch with a single, so you figure that Lloyd McClendon would have Ackley bunt the runners over........*BUZZ* WRONG AGAIN!!!!
Instead Ackley looked at two strikes then grounded into a double play, following him Mike Zunino popped out to end what could have been a possible scoring inning for the Mariners. Young was at 97 pitches after the sixth inning but headed out to pitch the seventh and I have to give him credit for keeping the M's in the game. Chris Carter though hit his second home run of the season and put the Astros lead to 3-0. So, after the seventh inning the Mariners trailed 3-0, Chris Young's day was done, and they were nine out away from being swept by the Astros and pushing their losing streak to nine games.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning Smoak got on with a bloop single to left, so Seager came up looking to help his team out. He did and in a big way, Seager blasted his first homer of the season and really put a positive charge in his team as they were now down by only a run. In both the eighth and ninth inning the Mariners bullpen had to be put to work. First was Charlie Furbush. After Charlie got the first two Astro hitters out he walked Jesus Guzman and gave up a single to Alex Presley, so the Astros were threatening to score again and the man to face Furbush with two one would be Carter. Furbush though showed no signs of fear as he struck out Carter to end the threat.
Fernando Rodney was called in the ninth to keep the game at a one run game. Rodney got the job done but it took him some time to do it as he threw 28 pitches to get out of the ninth.
So here we go again, the Astros brought in former Mariner Josh Fields to close things out. Cano lead off the inning with a nice blooped single and Corey Hart extended his hitting streak to six games as he lined a single down the left field line. So with two on and nobody out Justin Smoak had a shot to win this game......didn't happen though. Smoak went down swinging and so the M's were down to their final two outs. Smoak however would be the final out, as Seager stepped in with already a home run under his belt, he swung at the first pitch he saw from Fields and it was a no-doubter walk off home run.
The Mariners losing streak is finally over!!!! Man have I waited to say that for a whole damn week. After today's win me and a lot of other Mariner fans were like Lou Brown in Major League 2 "I LOVE THIS $%^ AND I MAY MOVE TO ENGLAND!!!!"
Again the M's have a day off tomorrow and will face the Texas Rangers for a 3 game series starting on Thursday. After the day off we may see Cole Gillespie get a call up.....you never know.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Kyle Seager 2-3 2 HR 5 RBIs 2 R BB
Robinson Cano 2-4 R
Chris Young 7 IP 3 R 3 ER 6 K 5 BB
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Felix bullies the A's in home debut
What do you get when you have 38,968 fans and 25,000 have yellow shirts and K cards? You get the first Supreme Court of the season and King Felix Hernandez didn't disappoint the fans. The day before this game he and Macklemore did a commercial for the #ChangeTheGame campaign for anti-bullying but boy it seemed he didn't want to promote anti-bullying against the Athletics.
Felix improved to 3-0 for the first time in his major league career and also improved his record against the A's to 17-7 in 31 starts with a 2.60 ERA. Though the bullpen nearly fell apart in the top of the eighth, thankfully they were able to hold the A's off and Fernando Rodney shut the door and shot his arrow to finish off the A's.
The Mariners offense the other night was only able to get one hit of Angels starter Garrett Richards, tonight was different story as the M's hitters decided to pound the A's pitching staff with 12 hits. Abraham Almonte got things started with the first pitch as he drilled a line drive to left and thanks to his amazing speed he was able to leg out his third double of the year, following that Brad Miller laid down a bunt that turned into a base hit thanks again to speed.
If you remember early this year the Yankees coaching staff said that Robinson Cano never hustled........well things change, Cano legged out his second infield hit of the season and on the play Almonte scored the first run of the game.The Mariners were able to load the bases with one out, but unfortunately Kyle Seager popped out on a high 3-2 pitch and Stefen Romero struck out on an off speed pitch and so A's starter Tommy Milone escaped the first with minimal damage.
Lets talk more about King Felix. Felix began the game off by retiring the first 10 batters he faced and struck out 6 batters in the first four innings. Felix continued his domination while his offense decided to give their King the run support he deserves.
The bottom of the fourth started off on what looked like a lead off home run by Seager but after replay review it turned out that Seager just missed his first home run of the year by a few feet, so after running around the bases and thinking he finally got that big hit he was searching for he ended up striking out on the next pitch, Romero struck out as well on another off speed pitch. So with two outs the Mariners decided to put the 2000 slogan to work again "2 outs so what?".
Dustin Ackley got his second hit of the game and following that Mike Zunino grounded to Josh Donaldson who's throw went wide and into the crowd which allowed Ackley to score Zunino was then able to score on another error by the A's and so the M's pushed their third run across.
The Mariners added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Ackley got things started with a half swinging single to left and following his single Zunino drove an inside pitch into the A's bullpen to give the M's a 5-0 lead. After a pitching change by the Athletics Brad Miller showed off his impressive power swing by driving a long one over the center field wall for his third homer of the season and pushing the Mariners lead to 6-0. After the sixth inning Felix went out and struck out the side to push his strikeout total to 11 for the night and while the M's were up to bat Felix decided that he wanted to throw one more inning even with 100 pitches under his belt.
Felix hit the first batter he saw in the eighth and then gave up a single to Eric Sogard. Lloyd McClendon then made the smart decision of coming out to relieve Felix of his duties for the night, and so Felix walked off to a standing ovation from 38,000+ fans giving thanks to the King for one amazing night.
The Mariners bullpen though was not as hot as Felix was, Lucas Luetge was brought in and walked the first batter he saw on four straight pitches so McClendon decided to relieve Luetge and give Danny Farqhuar a shot. That didn't fan out as great as McClendon intended, as Farqhuar walked Jed Lowrie with the bases loaded so that brought the A's first run home, Farqhuar was able to strike out Donaldson but McClendon went to the bullpen for the third time in the inning and brought in Charlie Furbush to try and stop the bleeding.
Furbush gave up an RBI single to Brandon Moss which made it 6-2, following that Yoenis Cespedes legged out a fielder's choice and on the play Sam Fuld scored and made it a 3 run ball game. To make things worse Furbush threw a wild pitch that allowed the fourth run to come across and score, thankfully on the very next pitch Furbush got Alberto Callaspo to pop out to Justin Smoak to end the nightmare inning.
Rodney was then called upon in the ninth inning to close things out and secure the M's 6th win and 1st place in the West. After giving up a lead off double to John Jaso Rodney settled down and Daric Barton to pop out and fooled Sogard with one nasty changeup. A's manager decided to send in another pinch hitter in Mariners killer Coco Crisp, so McClendon decided to make a quick trip to the mound to talk things over with his closer.
What ever Lloyd said to Rodney it worked, as he threw three straight changeup's to Crisp and got him to swing on the third one for the final strike of the game. Rodney shot that arrow towards the heavens and earn Felix his third win of the season and earned his third save of the year.
So the M's are back in first place in West, I know its early but you gotta take in the fact that the M's are over .500 and are in 1st place. Tomorrow the M's send Erasmo Ramirez to the mound who will look to have a better outing against Oakland than last time where he allowed five runs on seven hits, Sonny Gray will go against Ramirez and so tomorrow's game is basically a rematch of last Sunday's game.
Players of the Game: Felix Hernandez 7+ IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 11 K
Mike Zunino 2-4 HR 2 RBI 2 R
Brad Miller 2-5 HR RBI R
Dustin Ackley 3-4 2B 2 R
Felix improved to 3-0 for the first time in his major league career and also improved his record against the A's to 17-7 in 31 starts with a 2.60 ERA. Though the bullpen nearly fell apart in the top of the eighth, thankfully they were able to hold the A's off and Fernando Rodney shut the door and shot his arrow to finish off the A's.
The Mariners offense the other night was only able to get one hit of Angels starter Garrett Richards, tonight was different story as the M's hitters decided to pound the A's pitching staff with 12 hits. Abraham Almonte got things started with the first pitch as he drilled a line drive to left and thanks to his amazing speed he was able to leg out his third double of the year, following that Brad Miller laid down a bunt that turned into a base hit thanks again to speed.
If you remember early this year the Yankees coaching staff said that Robinson Cano never hustled........well things change, Cano legged out his second infield hit of the season and on the play Almonte scored the first run of the game.The Mariners were able to load the bases with one out, but unfortunately Kyle Seager popped out on a high 3-2 pitch and Stefen Romero struck out on an off speed pitch and so A's starter Tommy Milone escaped the first with minimal damage.
Lets talk more about King Felix. Felix began the game off by retiring the first 10 batters he faced and struck out 6 batters in the first four innings. Felix continued his domination while his offense decided to give their King the run support he deserves.
The bottom of the fourth started off on what looked like a lead off home run by Seager but after replay review it turned out that Seager just missed his first home run of the year by a few feet, so after running around the bases and thinking he finally got that big hit he was searching for he ended up striking out on the next pitch, Romero struck out as well on another off speed pitch. So with two outs the Mariners decided to put the 2000 slogan to work again "2 outs so what?".
Dustin Ackley got his second hit of the game and following that Mike Zunino grounded to Josh Donaldson who's throw went wide and into the crowd which allowed Ackley to score Zunino was then able to score on another error by the A's and so the M's pushed their third run across.
The Mariners added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Ackley got things started with a half swinging single to left and following his single Zunino drove an inside pitch into the A's bullpen to give the M's a 5-0 lead. After a pitching change by the Athletics Brad Miller showed off his impressive power swing by driving a long one over the center field wall for his third homer of the season and pushing the Mariners lead to 6-0. After the sixth inning Felix went out and struck out the side to push his strikeout total to 11 for the night and while the M's were up to bat Felix decided that he wanted to throw one more inning even with 100 pitches under his belt.
Felix hit the first batter he saw in the eighth and then gave up a single to Eric Sogard. Lloyd McClendon then made the smart decision of coming out to relieve Felix of his duties for the night, and so Felix walked off to a standing ovation from 38,000+ fans giving thanks to the King for one amazing night.
The Mariners bullpen though was not as hot as Felix was, Lucas Luetge was brought in and walked the first batter he saw on four straight pitches so McClendon decided to relieve Luetge and give Danny Farqhuar a shot. That didn't fan out as great as McClendon intended, as Farqhuar walked Jed Lowrie with the bases loaded so that brought the A's first run home, Farqhuar was able to strike out Donaldson but McClendon went to the bullpen for the third time in the inning and brought in Charlie Furbush to try and stop the bleeding.
Furbush gave up an RBI single to Brandon Moss which made it 6-2, following that Yoenis Cespedes legged out a fielder's choice and on the play Sam Fuld scored and made it a 3 run ball game. To make things worse Furbush threw a wild pitch that allowed the fourth run to come across and score, thankfully on the very next pitch Furbush got Alberto Callaspo to pop out to Justin Smoak to end the nightmare inning.
Rodney was then called upon in the ninth inning to close things out and secure the M's 6th win and 1st place in the West. After giving up a lead off double to John Jaso Rodney settled down and Daric Barton to pop out and fooled Sogard with one nasty changeup. A's manager decided to send in another pinch hitter in Mariners killer Coco Crisp, so McClendon decided to make a quick trip to the mound to talk things over with his closer.
What ever Lloyd said to Rodney it worked, as he threw three straight changeup's to Crisp and got him to swing on the third one for the final strike of the game. Rodney shot that arrow towards the heavens and earn Felix his third win of the season and earned his third save of the year.
So the M's are back in first place in West, I know its early but you gotta take in the fact that the M's are over .500 and are in 1st place. Tomorrow the M's send Erasmo Ramirez to the mound who will look to have a better outing against Oakland than last time where he allowed five runs on seven hits, Sonny Gray will go against Ramirez and so tomorrow's game is basically a rematch of last Sunday's game.
Players of the Game: Felix Hernandez 7+ IP 4 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 11 K
Mike Zunino 2-4 HR 2 RBI 2 R
Brad Miller 2-5 HR RBI R
Dustin Ackley 3-4 2B 2 R
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
M's rally to win home opener
45,661 packed Safeco Field to watch one helluva home opener for the Mariners. The M's improved their record to 5-2 with a 5-3 win over the Angels and are now 4-0 against the Angels this season. The Mariners home opener got off to both a great and rough start, as the introduction of the players and the Seahawks making an appearance pumped up the crowd. Though Albert Pujols and David Freese decided to take the crowd out of the game with back-to-back home runs.
James Paxton took the mound for the Mariners last night and became the first Mariners rookie to start a home opening game, the Angels jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Pujols hit a 2-run bomb to left and Freese followed with a solo shot to center. After that first inning Paxton though would settle down and retire the next 14 batters he would face.
In the first game the Mariners face Hector Santiago they were able to get to him early in the first and make him throw 26 pitches, this time it the M's three innings to finally get to Santiago. After the first two batters got out Brad Miller was able to get on first after a wild pitch third strike, following that Robinson Cano was able to walk on four straight pitches.
Justin Smoak then came up and hit laser shot up the gut which allowed Miller to score with ease and the M's were on the board for the first time at home this season. Corey Hart decided to give the Mariners some more runs but in a loud fashion as he drilled one into Edgar's Cantina to put the Mariners up 4-3.
In the top of the sixth inning a scary moment popped up as Paxton was taken out of the game after experiencing some tightness in his throwing arm. Paxton left the game with what would be diagnosed as a strained lat muscle in his left shoulder. Yoervis Medina was brought in to finish the sixth inning for Paxton. Medina struggled to locate his pitches but was able to strike out Mike Trout and get Freese to ground into an inning ending double play.
Paxton though is scheduled to have an MRI done on his shoulder this Wednesday, Paxton said that "It's just a little strain. I'm going to get an MRI to see what exactly is going on in there, but I just want to be careful right now. My strength is good, they said, so I just want to get it checked out."
If M's fans remember last year Stephen Pryor missed almost the entire 2013 season with a partially torn lat muscle, then had complications when he tried to return. Thankfully Paxton's injury is just a strain and if lucky could miss 1-2 starts but for now we can only hope that his injury isn't too serious.
Getting back to the recap of last night's win Hart added one more home run to his impressive night and added his 4th RBI of the game to boot with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hart now leads the team in home runs.
Manager Lloyd McClendon was now counting on his bullpen to keep the Angels hitters at bay. Danny Farqhuar came into the top of the seventh and would pitch 1.1 innings worth of work. Tom Wilhelmsen came in to relieve Farqhuar in the top of the eighth with two outs and got Trout out on strikes. Fernando Rodney was then summoned in the ninth to take aim and shoot his first arrow as a Mariner in Safeco. Rodney would give the fans a scare as he walked the first two batters he saw but settled down and was able to strike out two and get former Mariner Raul Ibanez to fly out to end the game and seal the M's victory.
Tomorrow night the M's have shot to get a two sweep on the Angels, as Roenis Elias takes the mound against Garrett Richards. Elias gave up just one run in his MLB debut but came away with a no decision, this time though I think the umpire will have a different strike zone that will be more consistent then Sean Barber.
Players of the Game: Corey Hart 2-4 2 HR 4 RBI 2 R
Justin Smoak 2-4 RBI R 2B
James Paxton took the mound for the Mariners last night and became the first Mariners rookie to start a home opening game, the Angels jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Pujols hit a 2-run bomb to left and Freese followed with a solo shot to center. After that first inning Paxton though would settle down and retire the next 14 batters he would face.
In the first game the Mariners face Hector Santiago they were able to get to him early in the first and make him throw 26 pitches, this time it the M's three innings to finally get to Santiago. After the first two batters got out Brad Miller was able to get on first after a wild pitch third strike, following that Robinson Cano was able to walk on four straight pitches.
Justin Smoak then came up and hit laser shot up the gut which allowed Miller to score with ease and the M's were on the board for the first time at home this season. Corey Hart decided to give the Mariners some more runs but in a loud fashion as he drilled one into Edgar's Cantina to put the Mariners up 4-3.
In the top of the sixth inning a scary moment popped up as Paxton was taken out of the game after experiencing some tightness in his throwing arm. Paxton left the game with what would be diagnosed as a strained lat muscle in his left shoulder. Yoervis Medina was brought in to finish the sixth inning for Paxton. Medina struggled to locate his pitches but was able to strike out Mike Trout and get Freese to ground into an inning ending double play.
Paxton though is scheduled to have an MRI done on his shoulder this Wednesday, Paxton said that "It's just a little strain. I'm going to get an MRI to see what exactly is going on in there, but I just want to be careful right now. My strength is good, they said, so I just want to get it checked out."
If M's fans remember last year Stephen Pryor missed almost the entire 2013 season with a partially torn lat muscle, then had complications when he tried to return. Thankfully Paxton's injury is just a strain and if lucky could miss 1-2 starts but for now we can only hope that his injury isn't too serious.
Getting back to the recap of last night's win Hart added one more home run to his impressive night and added his 4th RBI of the game to boot with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Hart now leads the team in home runs.
Manager Lloyd McClendon was now counting on his bullpen to keep the Angels hitters at bay. Danny Farqhuar came into the top of the seventh and would pitch 1.1 innings worth of work. Tom Wilhelmsen came in to relieve Farqhuar in the top of the eighth with two outs and got Trout out on strikes. Fernando Rodney was then summoned in the ninth to take aim and shoot his first arrow as a Mariner in Safeco. Rodney would give the fans a scare as he walked the first two batters he saw but settled down and was able to strike out two and get former Mariner Raul Ibanez to fly out to end the game and seal the M's victory.
Tomorrow night the M's have shot to get a two sweep on the Angels, as Roenis Elias takes the mound against Garrett Richards. Elias gave up just one run in his MLB debut but came away with a no decision, this time though I think the umpire will have a different strike zone that will be more consistent then Sean Barber.
Players of the Game: Corey Hart 2-4 2 HR 4 RBI 2 R
Justin Smoak 2-4 RBI R 2B
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Smoakin hot Mariners off to 2-0 start
Last night during the 6 run ninth inning I was thinking to myself "OK Mariners save some runs and hits for tomorrow".......what I didn't know was that they already saved up some runs and hits for tonight. Justin Smoak and Brad Miller lead the way for the Mariners as they helped Erasmo Ramirez earn his first win both in the season and against the Angels. The Mariners red hot offense pushed 8 more runs tonight against C.J. Wilson and the Angels and moved to 2-0. Stefen Romero made his major league debut tonight along with Corey Hart and John Buck making their Mariners debut.
The Mariners got the scoring going in the top of the third. After Romero flew out to lead off the inning both Dustin Ackley and Buck singled, Abraham Almonte would then double home Ackley and so the Mariners drew first blood in this game. M's weren't done, with two outs Wilson intentionally walked Robinson Cano and Smoak decided to make him pay by drilling one into left center field that cleared the bases and so the M's hammered Wilson for four runs in the third.
In the bottom of the fourth the Angels got their two cents in, and by two cents I mean two runs thanks to Raul Ibanez's first home run of the season and so the M's lead was cut to just 2 runs.
That lead would be put to 3 runs thanks to "Crazy legs" Miller, as he hit his first round tripper of the season and his first home run off a left handed pitcher. Hart lead off the top half of the sixth inning with his first hit as a Mariner then two outs later Ackley provided another 2-out RBI for the Mariners by hitting his first extra base hit of the season with a double.
Ramirez provided the M's with another great pitching performance. Ramirez went 7 strong innings and struck out 6 Angel hitters. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in for Ramirez in the bottom of the eighth inning and this time Tommy Boy didn't have the success he had last night. Though the Bartender didn't seem to have control problems but the defense made a mistake that would allow a run to score, Lloyd McClendon then decided to bring in Joe Beimel for his Mariner debut. Beimel didn't even need to throw a pitch to get out of the inning as he picked off David Freese to end the inning.
Miller added two more runs in the top of the ninth inning. Ackley lead off the inning with a walk and 2-outs (yes again) Miller literally destroyed the first pitch he saw into the right field seat for his second homer of the game and his fourth multi home run game in his career. Fernando Rodney was then brought in for his Mariner debut in the ninth, man last night saw a lot of players making their Mariner debut. Getting back to the game, Rodney only allowed a lead off single to Ibanez after which he struck out Howie Kendrick and got Hank Croger to ground into a game ending double play.
So, last night saw a lot of first's. Four players made their Mariner debut, Romero made his MLB debut, and Rodney fired the first arrow of the season. All and all it was one great game to watch as the Mariners put their 1st place record to 2-0.
The M's will look to go 3-0 for the first time since 1995.......hmm wasn't that a good year? I cant remember anyways the M's will send James Paxton out for his season debut.
Players of the Game: Erasmo Ramirez 7 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 6 K
Justin Smoak 2-4 2B 3 RBIs
Brad Miller 2-5 2 HRs 3 RBIs 2 R
NOTES: The Mariners hot start is thank not just for 18 runs but for how those runs have been scored. The M's in two game are 8-29 with runners in scoring position and 14 of those runs have come with 2 outs. Brad Miller's 2 home run game was his 4th in his career.
The Mariners got the scoring going in the top of the third. After Romero flew out to lead off the inning both Dustin Ackley and Buck singled, Abraham Almonte would then double home Ackley and so the Mariners drew first blood in this game. M's weren't done, with two outs Wilson intentionally walked Robinson Cano and Smoak decided to make him pay by drilling one into left center field that cleared the bases and so the M's hammered Wilson for four runs in the third.
In the bottom of the fourth the Angels got their two cents in, and by two cents I mean two runs thanks to Raul Ibanez's first home run of the season and so the M's lead was cut to just 2 runs.
That lead would be put to 3 runs thanks to "Crazy legs" Miller, as he hit his first round tripper of the season and his first home run off a left handed pitcher. Hart lead off the top half of the sixth inning with his first hit as a Mariner then two outs later Ackley provided another 2-out RBI for the Mariners by hitting his first extra base hit of the season with a double.
Ramirez provided the M's with another great pitching performance. Ramirez went 7 strong innings and struck out 6 Angel hitters. Tom Wilhelmsen was brought in for Ramirez in the bottom of the eighth inning and this time Tommy Boy didn't have the success he had last night. Though the Bartender didn't seem to have control problems but the defense made a mistake that would allow a run to score, Lloyd McClendon then decided to bring in Joe Beimel for his Mariner debut. Beimel didn't even need to throw a pitch to get out of the inning as he picked off David Freese to end the inning.
Miller added two more runs in the top of the ninth inning. Ackley lead off the inning with a walk and 2-outs (yes again) Miller literally destroyed the first pitch he saw into the right field seat for his second homer of the game and his fourth multi home run game in his career. Fernando Rodney was then brought in for his Mariner debut in the ninth, man last night saw a lot of players making their Mariner debut. Getting back to the game, Rodney only allowed a lead off single to Ibanez after which he struck out Howie Kendrick and got Hank Croger to ground into a game ending double play.
So, last night saw a lot of first's. Four players made their Mariner debut, Romero made his MLB debut, and Rodney fired the first arrow of the season. All and all it was one great game to watch as the Mariners put their 1st place record to 2-0.
The M's will look to go 3-0 for the first time since 1995.......hmm wasn't that a good year? I cant remember anyways the M's will send James Paxton out for his season debut.
Players of the Game: Erasmo Ramirez 7 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 6 K
Justin Smoak 2-4 2B 3 RBIs
Brad Miller 2-5 2 HRs 3 RBIs 2 R
NOTES: The Mariners hot start is thank not just for 18 runs but for how those runs have been scored. The M's in two game are 8-29 with runners in scoring position and 14 of those runs have come with 2 outs. Brad Miller's 2 home run game was his 4th in his career.
Friday, February 14, 2014
New 2014 Seattle Mariners Projections
The Seattle Mariners off season has been looking like a playoff maybe even a World Series one. The M's just got done signing closer Fernando Rodney to a 2 year, $14 million dollar deal. So, again the Mariners are making noise in the offseason and are trying to see if they can pull off a playoff season and maybe perhaps a World Series title. The Mariners football counterpart the Seahawks just got finished with winning their first Super Bowl title in franchise history. So the Mariners have very high expectation's this year, especially when it comes to the playoffs cause lets face it the Mariners have been going-on 13 year playoff-less drought and with the signing's they have had they will look to end that drought this year.
Here is my newest projection on the Mariners with their newest additions.
Starting players
C Mike Zunino
1B Justin Smoak
2B Robinson Cano
SS Brad Miller/Nick Franklin
3B Kyle Seager
CF Dustin Ackley
RF Abraham Almonte
LF Michael Saunders or Nick Franklin
DH Corey Hart or Logan Morrison
Bench players
Logan Morrison
Willie Bloomquist
Nick Franklin or Carlos Triunfel
John Buck
Starting Rotation
Felix Hernandez
Hisashi Iwakuma
Taijuan Walker
James Paxton
Erasmo Ramirez or Scott Baker (if he makes the Spring Training cut) or a free agent
Bullpen
Blake Beaven
Stephen Pryor
Lucas Luetge
Yoervis Medina
Charlie Furbush
SU Danny Farqhuar
CL Fernando Rodney
The first thing that is up for discussion is the Brad Miller/Nick Franklin battle that will be going on at the beginning of Spring Training. To me its a no brainier, Miller will win this position battle no doubt. I mean last year Miller played great at shortstop so why replace a good thing with a struggling hitter? It would be just like having another version of Brendan Ryan......and seriously who wants that? For some reason after the All Star Break pitcher's figured him out. Franklin batted a horrible .194, struck out 77 times, and was less patient at the plate and swung at pitches that even Vladimir Guererro wouldn't have swung at.
Depending on how both Franklin and Carlos Triunfel does during Spring Training one of them will get a spot on the 25 man roster. Both have not produced hitting wise in the major's but they need to fill the 25 man roster with someone right? Now if Franklin fails at getting the spot at shortstop there is always a possibility that the M's will give him a shot in the outfield just like Ackley last year.
Next thing I should discuss is the 5th spot in the starting rotation. If the Mariners don't sign Ervin Santana then the final spot will go to either Ramirez or the non-roster invite Scott Baker. Ramirez is the first choice of course, but again if the front office goes out and spends a little more money on a possible big pitcher free agent then Ramirez could be seen doing early inning appearances in the bullpen. Also I came close to putting tom Wilhelmsen on the roster but decided better, why you ask, do I even need a reason? Or should I remind M's fans of the game in Boston on August 1st of last year?
I thought not. Wilhelmsen last year began the season with a great start, but then all of a sudden he had control problems and had major meltdowns and blew saves left and right. Danny Farqhuar on the other hand pitch amazing once he was given the closer position he was light's out, so with Rodney being signed Farqhuar will become the setup man.
Now before I end this post I do want to get on the bench players. First Willie Bloomquist, I'm happy that he has been brought back to his Northwest roots to play with the Mariners as a utility player and a speedy late inning pinch runner. Then we have John Buck, probably my favorite signing besides Cano this off season. Buck provides the necessary veteran role that 2nd year catcher Mike Zunino needs to learn about his position and become a better catcher and hitter. Basically the M's signed a bench player who still has a great arm as a catcher and can hit for power.
This off season has seen a number of great signings and the season is less then a month away from beginning. My only hope for the Mariners is that the team can improve with their hitting with runners in scoring position to help out Cano and score to win more ball games. If they do that, I see an 87-89 win season, with a Wild Card title and hopefully a World Series berth.
Let the season BEGIN!!!
Here is my newest projection on the Mariners with their newest additions.
Starting players
C Mike Zunino
1B Justin Smoak
2B Robinson Cano
SS Brad Miller/Nick Franklin
3B Kyle Seager
CF Dustin Ackley
RF Abraham Almonte
LF Michael Saunders or Nick Franklin
DH Corey Hart or Logan Morrison
Bench players
Logan Morrison
Willie Bloomquist
Nick Franklin or Carlos Triunfel
John Buck
Starting Rotation
Felix Hernandez
Hisashi Iwakuma
Taijuan Walker
James Paxton
Erasmo Ramirez or Scott Baker (if he makes the Spring Training cut) or a free agent
Bullpen
Blake Beaven
Stephen Pryor
Lucas Luetge
Yoervis Medina
Charlie Furbush
SU Danny Farqhuar
CL Fernando Rodney
The first thing that is up for discussion is the Brad Miller/Nick Franklin battle that will be going on at the beginning of Spring Training. To me its a no brainier, Miller will win this position battle no doubt. I mean last year Miller played great at shortstop so why replace a good thing with a struggling hitter? It would be just like having another version of Brendan Ryan......and seriously who wants that? For some reason after the All Star Break pitcher's figured him out. Franklin batted a horrible .194, struck out 77 times, and was less patient at the plate and swung at pitches that even Vladimir Guererro wouldn't have swung at.
Depending on how both Franklin and Carlos Triunfel does during Spring Training one of them will get a spot on the 25 man roster. Both have not produced hitting wise in the major's but they need to fill the 25 man roster with someone right? Now if Franklin fails at getting the spot at shortstop there is always a possibility that the M's will give him a shot in the outfield just like Ackley last year.
Next thing I should discuss is the 5th spot in the starting rotation. If the Mariners don't sign Ervin Santana then the final spot will go to either Ramirez or the non-roster invite Scott Baker. Ramirez is the first choice of course, but again if the front office goes out and spends a little more money on a possible big pitcher free agent then Ramirez could be seen doing early inning appearances in the bullpen. Also I came close to putting tom Wilhelmsen on the roster but decided better, why you ask, do I even need a reason? Or should I remind M's fans of the game in Boston on August 1st of last year?
I thought not. Wilhelmsen last year began the season with a great start, but then all of a sudden he had control problems and had major meltdowns and blew saves left and right. Danny Farqhuar on the other hand pitch amazing once he was given the closer position he was light's out, so with Rodney being signed Farqhuar will become the setup man.
Now before I end this post I do want to get on the bench players. First Willie Bloomquist, I'm happy that he has been brought back to his Northwest roots to play with the Mariners as a utility player and a speedy late inning pinch runner. Then we have John Buck, probably my favorite signing besides Cano this off season. Buck provides the necessary veteran role that 2nd year catcher Mike Zunino needs to learn about his position and become a better catcher and hitter. Basically the M's signed a bench player who still has a great arm as a catcher and can hit for power.
This off season has seen a number of great signings and the season is less then a month away from beginning. My only hope for the Mariners is that the team can improve with their hitting with runners in scoring position to help out Cano and score to win more ball games. If they do that, I see an 87-89 win season, with a Wild Card title and hopefully a World Series berth.
Let the season BEGIN!!!
Friday, February 7, 2014
Mariners making playoff moves
With all the hype on the Seattle Seahawks there's been only a small attention on the their baseball counterpart, the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners offseason has been unbelievable as they signed Robinson Cano to a 10 year, $240 million dollar deal, then they signed Corey Hart to a 1 year, $6 million dollar deal, and ended things by trading Carter Capps to the Miami Marlins for OF Logan Morrison. To give my honest opinion I was actually a little upset when they traded Capps, he had control problems towards the end of last season but I still think he had a future with the team. Now Capps will probably have a closing job in Miami and I wish him the best.
Now, back to the Mariners and their offseason. Yesterday the Mariners signed closer Fernando Rodney to a 2 year, $14 million dollar deal. So, remember my Mariners projection post? Yeah I'm going to have to make a big change in that post. With Rodney signed the Mariners now have one of the best closer's in the game and a position that was much needed. Danny Farqhuar was the closer last year after taking over for the struggling Tom Wilhelmsen, so most likely both those pitchers will compete for the setup role.
The Mariners have yet to have a consistent closer since Kazuhiro Sasaki, who closed for the Mariners for 4 years before retiring. Since Sasaki, the longest any closer has pitched for the Mariners was 3 years (Eddie Guardado), but since then no closer has gone more then 2 years before being replaced because of inconsistent play or control problems.
Brandon League and Wilhelmsen are a good example of how the Mariners have had closer problems. League blew a number of saves and was replaced by Wilhelmsen who had a great stretch for the rest of that year and the following year, but last year Wilhelmsen got off to a great start by converting 12 saves with a 0.75 ERA in the first two months of the season but things quickly fell apart as he ran into control problems and was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Now, with Fernando Rodney you are getting a closer who saved 48 games in 2012 with a 0.60 ERA and then the following year saved 37........so basically to sum it all up you're getting one helluva closer. This spring training the Mariners will most likely will have a competition between both Brad Miller and Nick Franklin for the role of shortstop since Cano will be taking the second basemen role over Franklin. Hart on the other hand will most likely be put in the DH role and may play a bit of first base and the outfield and as for Morrison he will be used as a late inning pinch runner/pinch hitter and a day off player.
The Mariners offseason is still not finished as the rumors fly around about Nelson Cruz. The rumor is, that the Mariners are close to signing the former Rangers slugger to a 2-3 year deal and may bring back Kendrys Morales as well. Cruz, if you remember last year was linked to the Miami biogenesis clinic and was suspended for 50 games. So, is a 2-3 year multi million dollar deal a good idea for Cruz who will be turning 34 this June?
If you read @LookoutLanding and read their daily post then you would have already read their take on the Cruz situation and who they believe would be a better signing then Nelson Cruz. They have posted that the better option's would be to resign Morales, extend Kyle Seager's contract, or make a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for Andre Either or Matt Kemp. But, besides Cruz some MLB writers and experts think with Cano signing with the Mariners it will promote more Dominican Republic players to sign with the Mariners. Right now Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana remind unsigned and could find their way to Seattle.
The Mariners could use one more big bat or pitcher on the starting 25 roster, Bronson Arroyo, A.J. Burnett, and Stephen Drew are still out there and could be wearing Mariners blue and teal this season if the front office decides to go after them. Another free agent signing that I almost forgot to mention was catcher John Buck. Buck signed a 1 year, $1 million dollar deal. That was my favorite signing besides the Cano signing of the offseason. The reason I say that is because Buck provides not only a veteran role for the 2nd year catcher Mike Zunino, but he has a great throwing arm to gun down runners and he has the ability to hit for power and drive in runs.
The Mariners offseason has just been one of the best in a long time. Its going to be tough for this baseball team though, to follow up with a playoff season or a World Series year to the Seahawks Super Bowl winning season. I do see one awesome season for this Mariners team just because of the signings and the development of the players that are currently on the roster. When I went to Mariners FanFest I told both Mariners play-by-play Aaron Goldsmith and did the recorded ROOT Sports interview with Jen Mueller that I expect to see an 87-89 win season with a Wild Card berth and hopefully win a title just like the Seahawks. I'm excited for this season and hope for the best.
GO Mariners!!!
Now, back to the Mariners and their offseason. Yesterday the Mariners signed closer Fernando Rodney to a 2 year, $14 million dollar deal. So, remember my Mariners projection post? Yeah I'm going to have to make a big change in that post. With Rodney signed the Mariners now have one of the best closer's in the game and a position that was much needed. Danny Farqhuar was the closer last year after taking over for the struggling Tom Wilhelmsen, so most likely both those pitchers will compete for the setup role.
The Mariners have yet to have a consistent closer since Kazuhiro Sasaki, who closed for the Mariners for 4 years before retiring. Since Sasaki, the longest any closer has pitched for the Mariners was 3 years (Eddie Guardado), but since then no closer has gone more then 2 years before being replaced because of inconsistent play or control problems.
Brandon League and Wilhelmsen are a good example of how the Mariners have had closer problems. League blew a number of saves and was replaced by Wilhelmsen who had a great stretch for the rest of that year and the following year, but last year Wilhelmsen got off to a great start by converting 12 saves with a 0.75 ERA in the first two months of the season but things quickly fell apart as he ran into control problems and was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Now, with Fernando Rodney you are getting a closer who saved 48 games in 2012 with a 0.60 ERA and then the following year saved 37........so basically to sum it all up you're getting one helluva closer. This spring training the Mariners will most likely will have a competition between both Brad Miller and Nick Franklin for the role of shortstop since Cano will be taking the second basemen role over Franklin. Hart on the other hand will most likely be put in the DH role and may play a bit of first base and the outfield and as for Morrison he will be used as a late inning pinch runner/pinch hitter and a day off player.
The Mariners offseason is still not finished as the rumors fly around about Nelson Cruz. The rumor is, that the Mariners are close to signing the former Rangers slugger to a 2-3 year deal and may bring back Kendrys Morales as well. Cruz, if you remember last year was linked to the Miami biogenesis clinic and was suspended for 50 games. So, is a 2-3 year multi million dollar deal a good idea for Cruz who will be turning 34 this June?
If you read @LookoutLanding and read their daily post then you would have already read their take on the Cruz situation and who they believe would be a better signing then Nelson Cruz. They have posted that the better option's would be to resign Morales, extend Kyle Seager's contract, or make a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers for Andre Either or Matt Kemp. But, besides Cruz some MLB writers and experts think with Cano signing with the Mariners it will promote more Dominican Republic players to sign with the Mariners. Right now Ubaldo Jimenez and Ervin Santana remind unsigned and could find their way to Seattle.
The Mariners could use one more big bat or pitcher on the starting 25 roster, Bronson Arroyo, A.J. Burnett, and Stephen Drew are still out there and could be wearing Mariners blue and teal this season if the front office decides to go after them. Another free agent signing that I almost forgot to mention was catcher John Buck. Buck signed a 1 year, $1 million dollar deal. That was my favorite signing besides the Cano signing of the offseason. The reason I say that is because Buck provides not only a veteran role for the 2nd year catcher Mike Zunino, but he has a great throwing arm to gun down runners and he has the ability to hit for power and drive in runs.
The Mariners offseason has just been one of the best in a long time. Its going to be tough for this baseball team though, to follow up with a playoff season or a World Series year to the Seahawks Super Bowl winning season. I do see one awesome season for this Mariners team just because of the signings and the development of the players that are currently on the roster. When I went to Mariners FanFest I told both Mariners play-by-play Aaron Goldsmith and did the recorded ROOT Sports interview with Jen Mueller that I expect to see an 87-89 win season with a Wild Card berth and hopefully win a title just like the Seahawks. I'm excited for this season and hope for the best.
GO Mariners!!!
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About Me
Im a huge Seattle sports nut. Thats basically about me. But im an upcoming blogger who writes only about the Mariners, Seahawks, Sounders, and when they come back the Sonics. Now if you would like me to write about something tweet me and i will write it. Now i should mark that im also Irish and have a beard that is feared above Brian Wilson's beard. His beard can kiss my beard's ass!